N701005 USS KEOKUK - WATERLINE

The USS Keokuk was an experimental American Civil War armored ship (casemate battleship) that was launched in December 1862. At the time of launching, the ship was 48.62 meters long and 11 meters wide, with a displacement of about 650-700 tons. The maximum speed did not exceed 9 knots. The armament consisted of two 280 mm smoothbore guns and a ram. The USS Keokuk was developed and built largely on a private initiative Charles W. Whitney, who, despite initial problems, managed to interest the US Department of the Navy with his project. The USS Keokuk was undoubtedly a very unusual design - externally it resembled a twin-turret monitor, but had no rotating turrets, and had armored casemates that protected the main armament of the ship against enemy fire. The guns were single movable and they could be fired through special openings both to the front and on both sides. The hull of the ship with very low sides, equipped with a ram in the front part, was also unusual. The USS Keokuk, despite its originality, was not a successful unit and is considered one of the least valuable armored ships of the Union of the Civil War era. The unit took a very limited part in it, because it entered service in March 1863, and in April of the same year it sank as a result of damage and very bad weather.